The Penn Stater Daily — March 24, 2014

The champs are here: So, how was your weekend? If you’re a Penn State sports fan, it was probably pretty great. The highlight came Saturday night in Oklahoma City, when the Nittany Lion wrestlers emerged from a tight team battle with Minnesota and Oklahoma State to clinch the program’s fourth straight NCAA championship. Ed Ruth (above) made history at 184 pounds, becoming Penn State’s first three-time NCAA champ, while fellow senior David Taylor was named the tournament’s Most Dominant Wrestler en route to his second 165-pound title. Seven Lions earned All-America status on the weekend—maybe none more impressively than sixth-year senior James English, who capped an injury-plagued career with a win in his final bout. And for some great post-tournament color, Tim Owen’s column at Blue-White Illustrated is worth a read.

Lucky 13: Speaking of national championship dynasties… On Sunday morning in Columbus, the Penn State fencing team out-dueled Princeton and the rest of the field to claim the program’s 13th combined NCAA title. Sophomore Kaito Streets not only has a very cool name, but he also claimed the national title in men’s saber, making him the 13th individual champ in school history.

Hoop on: The women’s basketball team opened NCAA tournament play Sunday with a 62-56 victory over Wichita State. The third-seeded Lady Lions will back back in the BJC Tuesday night, when they host Florida for a chance to go to the Sweet 16. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions travel to Siena tonight for a quarterfinal CBI matchup. That game airs at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

Make a face: Well, this is cool. Researchers led by Penn State anthropologist Mark Shriver have figured out a way to create crude but recognizable 3D models of human faces using nothing more than DNA. It’s complicated and fascinating stuff.